The chemical transformation wrought by the terrestrial and aquatic environments shape and foster the generation of life in all forms and maintain a balance in the ecosystem that nurtures it. As a part of the great cycle of transformations that occur in soil, the sea, and lake constitute a myriad of reactions in the environment that may be involved in the transformation of xenobiotics. Methods and tools for assessing such reactivity in the environment have not been heretofore available.
Assessing the reactivity of any given segment to the environment for chemical or biochemical conversion would be a valuable asset for predicting the rate and nature of the processes by which xenobiotics may be transformed in the soil-water sphere. A knowledge of this reactivity could also be used as a guide for choosing pesticides that may be environmentally tolerable or rapidly degraded at a given site. Moreover, reactivity probes should be a convenient means of assessing the effectiveness of remediation efforts. At this time, however, there is no methodology in place that will monitor reactivity directly. Although pH and redox potential can be monitored, they do not necessarily relate to a given site's capacity for transformation.
The basic chemical or biochemical processes a substance may undergo are oxidation, reduction, or substitution. Soil microbes are capable of transforming alkyl halides by all of these processes. The potential transformation of substances by exogenous enzymes and metal or metal ion mediated oxidation or reduction may also be expected. Substances that are useful for monitoring these events in the environment however are not available. Ideally, such a substance or testing protocol would provide accurate readings of these events in a terrestrial or water/aquatic sample with little sample work up and preparation, and require only small amounts of the reactivity detecting reagent. An environmental probe/reagent of this nature, and the diagnostic products derived from it should be easily analyzed and quantifiable.